Last week, 41 Canadian diplomats were withdrawn from India after New Delhi said they would lose diplomatic immunity if they stayed beyond October 20.
The resumption of visa issuance to Canadians is not imminent as “the situation is still not ideal for the conduct of normal diplomatic and consular functions by all Indian diplomats and consular officials,” said India’s High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma.
“If the improvement in the security environment for Indian diplomats and consular officials posted in Canada shows a positive sign, there is a likelihood of some relaxation in the existing Indian visa regime for Canadian citizens,” Verma told HT in an interview.
But there is the continuing problem of pro-Khalistan elements continuing to target India’s top diplomats in the country as well as its missions, he said. Without mentioning the pro-Khalistani groups like Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), Verma said, “The security threat per se emanates from the anti-India activities of hostile elements in Canada, who are very few in number. Unless the root causes are addressed, the security threat will continue”.
On Saturday, pro-Khalistan groups organised car rallies to the Indian High Commission in Ottawa and its consulates in Toronto and Vancouver. They carried placards calling Verma, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar ‘enemies of Canada’. SFJ has several programmes on its agenda, including the next phase of the so-called Khalistan referendum in Surrey on 29 October.
“The Indian authorities are continuously assessing the security of Indian diplomats and consular officials posted in Canada, as well as our diplomatic and consular premises,” Verma said.
Canada has provided personal security details to diplomats, while improving the security of the missions. But, Verma said, “providing security to key Indian diplomats and consular officials does not necessarily mean that the security environment has improved. It just means that they can have limited physical movement despite threats to their people. The situation is still not ideal for the conduct of normal diplomatic and consular functions by all Indian diplomats and consular officials”.
Jaishankar had said in New Delhi on Saturday that “right now that is what has been challenged in many ways in Canada, that our people are not safe, our diplomats are not safe. So if we see progress there, I would be very happy to resume the issuance of visas. I would hope that would be something that would happen very soon.
Visa issuance was suspended indefinitely on 21 September. BLS International, which runs the visa application centres in Canada, posted a scrolling message on its Canadian website: “Important notice from the Mission of India: Due to operational reasons, Indian visa services have been suspended until further notice with effect from 21 September 2023.
India-Canada relations hit rock bottom after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in the House of Commons on 18 September that there were “credible allegations” of a possible link between Indian agents and the killing of pro-Khalistani Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, on 18 June.
In the immediate aftermath, both countries have since expelled one diplomat each. Last week, 41 Canadian diplomats were withdrawn from India after New Delhi said they would lose diplomatic immunity if they stayed beyond Friday (20 October). Canada described the move as a “mass expulsion” of its diplomats, while India argued that it wanted “parity” in the number of diplomats.
Nijjar, who was the SFJ’s director in British Columbia, was gunned down in the car park of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara he headed in Surrey.
While India had accused Nijjar of being a terrorist, the charges against him were never tested in a Canadian court.
